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Maybe first and last Disney cruise


cruisin1982
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We paid the same amount as other cruisers. Our slot opened up and everything is already sold out. I know I will be bashed because this is our first cruise with Disney. I think Disney should set some tables for first timers so we can experience the whole Disney experience. We been to Disney world over 20 times and we don’t get any extra perks why should people get them because the cruised 5 times

 

 

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Just like Carnival corp has multiple cruise lines, each with their own ways of doing things and perks, The Walt Disney Co also has multiple entities, Disney land, Walt Disney World, Disney Cruise lines, Disney Vacation Club, etc and each is run by it's own leadership as well as operating procedures. Just because one offers a certain perk it does not mean you will get it at the others.

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Hope your right was looking forward to some of the tasting but got bummed last night when I saw everything sold out. Including the brunch they iffered

 

 

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As I mentioned on your other thread, there are often reservations available for Palo once onboard (DCL does hold some back for booking onboard). Check your Navigator you get at check in and see where/when this will be and go there when you board.

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I'm not totally sure what you mean by "set some tables." If you are talking about saving some reservations, about half of the adult dining reservations are never available on line. They are held back to be available for booking after you board the ship. THe "Welcome Aboard" Navigator will list a location for "Dining Changes" and Palo Reservations. You can also go directly to the restaurant and make a reservation there most of the time. As above, it is also possible that an on line reservation will open prior to your cruise if someone cancels. In that case, grab it. If it isn't exactly your preferred time, it is easier to move a reservation than to make one from scratch while on board.

 

If you are on a short cruise, it is difficult--there are the same number of guests on a 3 night Dream cruise as on a 7 night Fantasy cruise, but the Dream has a whole lot less time to seat people in the specialty restaurants. That is just a numbers game, but there are still reservations held until after boarding.

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both times we ate at palo, we were able to make the reservations on board the ship.

both were for brunch, one time was on the wonder, the other time on the dream.

 

as for the tastings - i think those tend to open up since i'm pretty sure they cost money.

People will book things and then cancel - so you should keep checking online to see if things open up.

 

and when you get onboard the ship, you can try to make the reservations then if you don't find anything on line.

 

i don't recall ever not getting something we wanted. Although, in truth, there isn't very much that we want that requires reservations.

We cruise both royal and DCL and enjoy them both, but still enjoy DCL more.

I know others disagree, but we think the food is great and we've always experienced outstanding service.

Plus we enjoy all the stupid games and activites they have for adults on board (what i call summer camp for adults). you don't need to reserve anything to participate in those. Just look in your daily navigator to see when and where they are.

 

i really hope you end up enjoying your cruise and don't let any preconceived notions spoil it for you.

.

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We have been on 22 Disney cruises. And yes I think I should get some advantage to being platinum. So we book certain things as soon as they become available usually 120 days out. I wish we got discounts or free drinks or laundry like other cruise lines. Alas no. But we have never failed to make changes to an existing reservation at palo, add a cocktail tasting or get additional slots to princess gathering while onboard. Just go to guest services as soon as you arrive and call palo when they open on first night.

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Various perks for return cruisers is an industry norm, is not exclusive to DCL, and is not influenced in any way by what they offer (rather, don't offer) at their parks.

 

As others have said, there should definitely be availability for various tastings and dining when you get on board. Beverage tastings in particular are a new addition to the online booking system - before last year you HAD to wait until you were on the ship to reserve them. My experience has been that there may be tastings available on board that were not listed online, or at least spaces left to get a ticket.

 

The time that you select your activities is also important. Did you jump online at exactly midnight EST the day that your booking window opened?

 

Even all the tasting are sold out.seems like I’ll have a great time not

 

It sounds like you're trying to let these things affect your cruise - worst case, you will still be able to see all the shows, visit Castaway Cay, experience the different dining rooms, spend time in the various bars and lounges, make memories with your family. I understand your disappointment, but some alcohol tastings and adult dining don't make the cruise :)

 

as for the tastings - i think those tend to open up since i'm pretty sure they cost money.

.

 

 

Correct. Standard tastings - mixology, wine, beer, etc - are around $20. Chocolate and liquor is slightly more.

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Super confused, in another thread you said:

 

"Thanks we only wanted to try the brunch the extra $30 per person is something we could budget. We did the fancy restaurant on our first cruise. It was real nice but it’s not us. Think the extra charge was $60 per person. I’d rather spend the extra money on something else. "

So are you a first time DCL cruiser? Sounds like you did Remy before?

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We will have a great time after all it’s a cruise was just upset seeing everything sold out

 

 

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Many things at Disney are upsetting when it comes to booking. Fast Pass + for the Avatar ride is the worst! Also getting a Cabana on Castaway Cay can be very difficult unless you book a concierge room. But sadly the world is an imperfect place. Try to enjoy the cruise in spite of your frustrations.

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We paid the same amount as other cruisers. Our slot opened up and everything is already sold out. I know I will be bashed because this is our first cruise with Disney. I think Disney should set some tables for first timers so we can experience the whole Disney experience. We been to Disney world over 20 times and we don’t get any extra perks why should people get them because the cruised 5 times

 

 

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This is also one of my biggest gripes against Disney. They have so few ships and the number of people that are DVC members or have Platinum status is pretty high it seems. They always get priority and it's nearly impossible to get what you want until you are at least gold, especially for the popular itineraries.

 

Disney should do something different to ensure that first time cruisers get the chance to experience all of what Disney has to offer.

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We have been on 22 Disney cruises. And yes I think I should get some advantage to being platinum. So we book certain things as soon as they become available usually 120 days out. I wish we got discounts or free drinks or laundry like other cruise lines. Alas no. But we have never failed to make changes to an existing reservation at palo, add a cocktail tasting or get additional slots to princess gathering while onboard. Just go to guest services as soon as you arrive and call palo when they open on first night.

 

I just think Disney has their frequent cruiser perks wrong. Yes, you should get some perks for being loyal, but Disney only gives you perks that don't cost them much, and they have shrunk some of those perks for Gold and Silver members. The think I am most unhappy about is the mixology and tastings. I've never had much luck booking those once onboard. Palo yes, those, not so much. Frankly, I think you should ONLY be able to book those once onboard. But alas, that's not the Disney preference so we suck it up and deal. Not a fan though and I do let them know this at every opportunity.

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Exactly as above--the "frequent cruiser" perks on DCL are significantly lower than what is available on other lines, have been decreased over the years, and are generally focused on things that cost DCL little or nothing.

 

As others have noted, we have found some activities full and been unable to book them after boarding, including things that could only be booked on board. But Palo has never been one of those things. We have always been able to add Palo on the first day. On some cruises we've been able to waitlist for a second Palo experience, both brunch and dinner. But in fairness, the brunch was on a trans-Atlantic cruise (fewer people, lots of sea days).

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It will be interesting to see what DCL does with their Castaway Club loyalty program in the future. When we were sailing in Northern Europe in the summer of 2017, the Cruise Director indicated that changes would be coming soon. Since then, we have heard nothing. Speculation now is that DCL won’t make changes until the new ships are rolled out.

 

This topic is ripe for disagreement. Just last week, a thread of posts on this topic on social media was deleted as it became quite heated.

 

As frequent DCL cruisers (going on number 24 in less than a month), I expect the program to be divided into additional tiers, possibly based on number of days vs. number of cruises. The next cruise we are scheduled on has a social media group of nearly 500, maybe more, who have organized activities together. Many of these are Platinum cruisers. I wonder how many people will be doing early boarding? A good portion of the passengers!

 

As you read these kinds of posts, you have new cruisers feeling squeezed out. And frequent cruisers who feel their loyalty is not adequately rewarded. Both of these are fair observations. DCL may need to come up with a hold-back system so that certain activities are made available at the time first time cruisers can book activities. Since availability of some of the activities is limited, a guest may find that a hold-back will not fully solve the problem.

 

DCL definitely needs to reward those who sail frequently with additional “rewards” (free internet or laundry seem like a really good start to me). This is “market” for cruise lines, although DCL seems to like to make and control their own markets. Number of days vs cruises is a nuance to the program to which I don’t have an answer. My bias is number of days, but that is because we typically take longer cruises.

 

 

 

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I'm totally with you. We have 30 cruises, and the last time I counted, over 300 nights...and we've been seriously branching out to other lines recently.

 

DCL's loyalty program has always generated discussion and no group is totally happy with it. And rumors that it was going to be revised have probably been around for 10 years. The only real perks are a free Palo meal for platinum level and a small amount of OBC if you purchase a future cruise certificate and are gold or platinum....and that was significantly reduced several years ago. Most of the other perks have become a "buy something, get something additional" deal--much less value than previously, and the gift shop discount has been seriously reduced.

 

A cruise director commented about 8 years ago that they didn't have all that many people with lots of cruises, but all of them choose the same cruises. Yes, we all seem to like new itineraries, trans-Atlantics, etc. We were on one TA/first Med B2B with more than 25% of the cabins platinum and 125 cabins doing B2B. It must have been the first time for those sorts of numbers as they gave us many small perks. We never really sorted out which were for B2B and which were for platinum, but we got the concierge munchies in our room each day, the additional toiletries, robe, and slippers, etc. Again, small things, but nice recognition.

 

At this point, I'm not sure I care what they do for frequent cruisers. I got soured when they reduced the benefits. That, combined with the serious price escalation has changed DCL from my first choice cruise line to needing a reason to choose them. When I can get a full suite on Princess for 2 weeks for 60% the cost of a balcony on DCL for a week, it doesn't make sense to choose Disney. However, we were sitting in the specialty restaurant on Princess when the Wonder cruised by going the other direction...and I will confess to the heartstrings going out to the Wonder. But Alaska isn't about the ship, and again, there was no real reason to choose the Wonder.

 

My business was DCL's to lose. Unfortunately, their policies have made them a lot less attractive as a repeat cruiser.

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We have only once paid extra for an ‘event’...dinner at Palo...besides our awesome friends we are with..it was a huge disappointment! Our server hassled is over buying wine...WE DON’T DRINK! I told him that several times, maybe he thought I was joking?? He even brings us two complementary glasses which went untouched. In essence, he only wanted to pad our bill. We usually always tip well over recommended. Not for this guy. Save your money, enjoy all the ship offers...it’s a great cruise line!

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We have only once paid extra for an ‘event’...dinner at Palo...besides our awesome friends we are with..it was a huge disappointment! Our server hassled is over buying wine...WE DON’T DRINK! I told him that several times, maybe he thought I was joking?? He even brings us two complementary glasses which went untouched. In essence, he only wanted to pad our bill. We usually always tip well over recommended. Not for this guy. Save your money, enjoy all the ship offers...it’s a great cruise line!

Wow! Was it Sylvester? He was the only Palo server that we really didn't like.

No excuse for this sort of behavior.

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Various perks for return cruisers is an industry norm, is not exclusive to DCL, and is not influenced in any way by what they offer (rather, don't offer) at their parks.

 

As others have said, there should definitely be availability for various tastings and dining when you get on board. Beverage tastings in particular are a new addition to the online booking system - before last year you HAD to wait until you were on the ship to reserve them. My experience has been that there may be tastings available on board that were not listed online, or at least spaces left to get a ticket.

 

The time that you select your activities is also important. Did you jump online at exactly midnight EST the day that your booking window opened?

 

 

 

It sounds like you're trying to let these things affect your cruise - worst case, you will still be able to see all the shows, visit Castaway Cay, experience the different dining rooms, spend time in the various bars and lounges, make memories with your family. I understand your disappointment, but some alcohol tastings and adult dining don't make the cruise :)

 

 

 

 

Correct. Standard tastings - mixology, wine, beer, etc - are around $20. Chocolate and liquor is slightly more.

 

 

 

This cruise is just me and my wife so we were interested in some adult activities. We like the whole Disney thing and she had always wanted to do an Disney cruise. Hope it’s as nice as everyone says it is. 3 sea days so hope to relax. I have a very stressful job so it will be nice to leave the work phone at home

 

 

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This cruise is just me and my wife so we were interested in some adult activities. We like the whole Disney thing and she had always wanted to do an Disney cruise. Hope it’s as nice as everyone says it is. 3 sea days so hope to relax. I have a very stressful job so it will be nice to leave the work phone at home

 

 

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During the day, there are very few "adult only" activities offered. You've noted Palo dining and the various tastings. That's really about it. Of course, there is chilling out in adult only areas of the ship. After 9pm, the nightclubs become "adult only" and there are activities there beginning about 10.

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I've done one Disney cruise. I remember staying up until 2 am the night that shore excursion bookings opened. I hit refresh right at midnight, but couldn't get on. The website kept crashing. I couldn't book anything. The next day, I could book some things, but many of the shore excursions I wanted were gone. It does leave a sour taste before one is even on board.

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